Bookworm Extraordinaire

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something—a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things—which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.”— Alan Bennett

I love books. All kinds of books, but most especially the magical kind, the kind that create their own worlds and make you a part of them as you read. The kind that make you feel like crying when you finish them, because now you must go back to the real world. My mother taught me to read when I was four years old and it has been the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. I discovered “The Lord of the Rings” when I was in fifth grade and wished with all of my heart that I could live in Middle Earth. Elves, Dwarfs, mighty heroes, daring princesses and brave, young hobbits took up residence in my imagination and have been there ever since. I went on to read Madeleine L’Engle, Isaac Asimov, C.S. Lewis, Andre Norton, Terry Brooks, and Patricia McKillip. Each author had their own voice, their own beautiful way of bringing you into their worlds and making you a part of them. I have read so many books by so many authors, that I really can’t narrow my favorites down to less than ten, but that is a good thing. I’m always looking for my next favorite new book, so if anyone out there has any recommendations, I would love to hear them!

“I have always been a reader; I have read at every stage of my life, and there has never been a time when reading was not my greatest joy. And yet I cannot pretend that the reading I have done in my adult years matches in its impact on my soul the reading I did as a child.”—Diane Setterfield

“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”—Madeleine Le’Engle

6 Comments:

Thanks for your comment on my post. And, after reading this, I think yes, we are a lot a like. I’m also a huge fan of big fantasy world series. (But why didn’t you mention HP, not a fan?) I discovered LOTR a little too early when my Dad decided to read it to me as a bedtime story… when I was six!

As to recommendations, it’s not quite as magic, and the world’s not nearly as big, but Hunger Games is a good place to lose yourself for the weekend. Or, His Dark Materials is great!

I also LOVE Harry Potter, but I didn’t want to get into a huge, long list of my favorites. I tried to stick with some of the more influential authors of my childhood and teen years. I didn’t read HP until I had kids of my own who loved him. The same with the Twilight series and many other great books. 🙂

Beautiful. It sums up my feelings about reading and books. When someone asks me what my favorite kind of book is, or what my favorite book is, I answer that I don’t have only one. Any title that leaves a void when I read the last page becomes a favorite. Thank you for liking my blog.

If you ask for recommendations, I’ll give them! Firstly, based on the authors you mention here: the fantasy novels of George MacDonald (esp. Phantastes and Lilith), anything by G.K. Chesterton (mostly essays and nonfiction books, but some fiction), the fantasy novels of Stephen Lawhead (great Christian fantasy writer who quite successfully carries the torch of Tolkien and Lewis, especially in his Pendragon Cycle), and the superb historical fiction of Rosemary Sutcliff (not a Christian, but with such excellent stories and characters that you can still benefit from them). I write about all of those authors on my blog and have reviewed some of them–but regardless of whether you visit my blog, I recommend them for your reading. Can’t go wrong with these ones!